Court Hears Man Gave Phone To Niece To Shut Her Up About Alleged Rape
State lawyer Taitusi Tuenuku told the three assessors in a rape trial yesterday that the 54-year-old accused gave his mobile phone to his 17-year-old niece after allegedly raping her in an attempt to keep her quiet.
Mr Tuenuku delivered his closing address in the Suva High Court before Justice Thushara Rajasinghe before Legal Aid Commission lawyer Swarvana Prakash delivered her address on behalf of the accused.
The accused is charged with one count of rape and is alleged to have had carnal knowledge of his niece without her consent on February 2, 2017.
The alleged incident happened in a village in Tailevu.
Mr Tuenuku said after luring the complainant into his house the accused pulled down his curtains and went to the kitchen and grabbed her from behind by wrapping one hand below her breast and another covering her mouth. He said after doing this the accused dragged the complainant to the bedroom and laid on top of her and pressed her down using his weight.
Mr Tuenuku said the complainant testified that she did not shout because the accused covered her mouth with his right hand while using his left hand to pull down her panty.
She also identified the accused in Court and said she did not consent to having sex with him. Mr Tuenuku posed a question to the assessors that if the sex was consensual then why did the accused cover the complainant’s mouth?
He said after the alleged rape the complainant hid herself from her family for days because of the shame that she felt.
He said she was embarrassed to tell people about what had happened because he was her uncle and they lived in a village setting.
Mr Tuenuku said the complainant’s father found out that the accused had given his phone to her.
She then went back to the accused’s house and told him that her father had found out about the phone.
The complainant’s aunt testified that she asked the accused why the complainant was inside his house and the accused got angry and confronted her aunt as to why she had spoken to the complainant.
The girl’s father also confronted the accused after he found out about the alleged rape.
Mr Tuenuku said the doctor’s medical finding that the hymen was not intact and was consistent with what the complainant told the Court that the accused had dragged her into his bedroom and raped her.
Ms Prakash told the assessors that the complainant’s story was full of doubts and therefore they should not believe her.
She said the accused contends that the incident never happened at all.
Ms Prakash said the complainant had so many opportunities after the alleged rape to tell her family members and friends about the incident but she never did.
She told the assessors to be sure whether a rape had happened or not after the complainant put herself at risk for the second time by going back to the accused’s house after her father found out about the phone.
Ms Prakash said in an endeavour to avoid punishment the complainant lied to her father about the rape.
Justice Rajasinghe will sum up the case to the assessors today.
Edited by Ranoba Baoa
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